Savings.com Blog - Dealman

Herding Cats: The Super Bowl, Facebook IPO, & How To Waste Money

Dealman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:37:00 GMT

Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger

This week we have the Komen controversy, big money at the Super Bowl, ways to waste money, the Facebook IPO, and stashing cash.

Plus, purring cats.

Washington Post: Komen Foundation revises funding policy - The power of the internet. A week or so after internet outrage stopped SOPA, outrage against the Komen Foundation defunding Planned Parenthood hit a similar peak. Looking around at this issue, people are still angry and think this is a PR stunt (or panic), but be grateful at least that Planned Parenthood's getting its funding, and that protest actually can work.

Bloomberg: Super Bowl All About Money, From Pricey Seats to Party Passes - It's said that Super Bowl games don't have the greatest fans in the stadium. For one, it's in a neutral territory so all the die-hards don't show up. But also, given the incredible expense of tickets, it probably attracts those who are less fanatical. The fans that do get to go are mostly season ticket holders. Do rich people really cover themselves in team-color body paint? Probably not. Still, it's the best game of the year in any sport. Go Giants!

Money Talks News: 5 Stupid Little Ways I Wasted $35.94 This Week - A neat post about just how much you spend in a given week on the small things. If you're spending $3 or less at a time, it might not seem like a lot, but when added all together, that's a lot. She doesn't even list a whole lot of purchases and it's $140 a month. What could you do with an extra $140? Plus, the cheap stuff doesn't seem like the makings of a very good diet either.

EW: Will success spoil Facebook? How the $5 billion IPO could affect you - So Facebook is going to sell for 5 billion dollars, which is pretty amazing considering that it only has 3000 employees. With Facebook, its the users who do the bulk of the work. So how is the sale going to affect the daily user? Probably not a lot in the short term, but in the long term it will speed up the rate at which Facebook is integrated into the entire internet. Whether or not this is a good thing is up for argument. It doesn't really seem like FB is going to go the way of Myspace and fade away.

Bargaineering: Your Take: Why I Keep Cash at Home - I wanted to post this because of a legend in my family: a great uncle didn't trust banks so he kept his entire life savings in his closet. One night he was robbed...of all his money. This isn't quite a cautionary tale because no one's going to do this, but it's still a good idea to have some spare cash around in case of emergencies. Imagine if electricity went out and an ATM wasn't accessible, or any card readers. Think of adding cash to any emergency kit.

Video of the Week: An informative look at the cats that purr.

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Herding Cats - GDP News, Apple's Manufacturing Problems, and a Brave Cat

Dealman — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:54:00 GMT

Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger

This week we have good GDP news, Xbox rumors, Apple's manufacturing problems, resisting impulse buying, and ways to make a smart kid.

Plus, a very brave cat.

Washington Post: U.S. GDP grew at fastest pace in 1.5 years in fourth quarter 2011 - Good news for the rest of us, but not quite good news if you're a political candidate running on the failing economy. Of course, with all good economic news, it's tempered with: don't get too excited just yet. It's a confusing mixture of ideas: on the one hand consumer spending is up, on the other it's saying that households are "under strain." So which is it? Answer: both. All told, good news is good news and we're headed in a more-positive direction, albeit slowly.

Huffington Post: Xbox 720 Rumors: Blu-Ray, Kinect 2, Won't Play Used Games? - I was this close to buying the family an Xbox this last Christmas. I didn't because we have a Wii and it seemed to extravagant to have both. But then I was looking up cheats for Lego Harry Potter (sue me) and the video tutorial was of the Xbox version, and, oh man does it look better. My daughter was like: wait, the trees have leaves? And now it's poised to look even better than it did previously. There's always the Wii U, but, nah, I'm going to graduate to the Xbox.

PC World: Apple Accused of Ignoring 'Human Cost' of Manufacturing - Now for the dark side of tech: this is important. There's no way to sugercoat this: Apple manufactures products in sweat-shop-like conditions. Apple executives know this, but it continues because it's more profitable. This says it all from an anonymous Apple executive: "Right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China." What's worse, though, is this isn't an Apple problem, it's a tech problem in general. But given that Apple's supposed to be the progressive, innovative one, it's a pretty big wake-up call. There is evidence that Apple's actually better at monitoring these problems, but still: significantly lower child labor is still too much.

Mint: How to Identify and Resist Your Spending Triggers - So women are self-indulgent savers. Don't blame the messenger--that actually comes from a study of spending habits. Women are better comparison shoppers and savers, but also worse impulse buyers, which could thereby cancel out much of the savings. One of the major factors of impulse buying is mood: if you're in a bad mood, you'll look for a pick-me-up through a purchase. Sort of the same principle as don't go grocery shopping hungry. Some other good tips here too: like don't go shopping when you're tired because you'll make bad decisions. It takes a sharp mind to save. Which leads to the next post...

Consumerism Commentary: Improve Your Child's Cognitive Ability for Income Potential - Fascinating post, which could apply to adults as much as children. It's not as though once you hit adulthood, you should stop with the brain teasing. But these habits start early. My daughter had her first piano lesson last week and it's been awesome--it's not like it's a chore, she's like a sponge wanting to learn new things (of course, we'll see what happens when lessons start getting more challenging). Music really seems best: it's both like learning a new language, while also being creative, unlike something like a Rubik's Cube.

Video of the Week: Slightly concerned that the people aren't concerned about this cat, but nothing bad happens:

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Herding Cats - SOPA Defeat, Cash vs Credit, and an Adorable Bat

Dealman — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:44:00 GMT

Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger

This week we have a SOPA victory, Paula Deen, news from Apple, a 15-minute budget, and cash or credit? Plus, an adorable bat.

Business Week: Congress Shelves Hollywood-Backed Piracy Bills After Web Protest - The web showed its power this week when Google, Wikipedia, and others shut down on Wednesday--leading to the hilarious (and sort of scary) Twitter account Herpderpedia posting all of the people who didn't understand what the blackout was about. In short: piracy=bad. SOPA=also bad. Heartening to see a win for the little guy--if Google can be considered a little guy.

CNET: iBooks 2 was Steve Jobs' vision, textbook publisher says - Apple's first big move in the post-Jobs era is actually a holdover from his time, but it's come with some controversy. The textbook app is useful for holding down the price of textbooks - but this also requires owning an iPad. It's more a taste of the future of education then something that can be experienced by all students today. The iBooks Author app was also released - Apple's attempt to mimic the success of Kindle self-publishing. There are complaints that Apple's terms and conditions are too strict. Interesting moves, but more like baby steps on Apple's part.

Mint: A 15-Minute Budgeting Move That Will Save You $2,000 - This post is interesting for the post itself and the comments that come afterward that take issue with it. I'm not so hard on her process--it is a bit simplistic, and doesn't cover a whole lot of issues that need to be factored into a budget, but the simple approach could get some people going. Some might not realize that they can save at all every month--they're paycheck to paycheck, not realizing that there may have some more freedom in their spending if they take a closer look. So: it's a start.

Doughroller: Cash or Credit – How Should You Pay? - Perhaps this post can help you manage the budget in the post above. A good breakdown of spending via cash or credit. You can't really consider a debit card as "cash" because that won't lock you to a certain spending number. If you have $100 in you wallet, you can't spend more than you have. Of course, carrying around too much cash can be problematic all its own, but generally: cash is better. I'm not talking to the people who pay off their credit card balance every month, because many, many people carry a balance, but if you're able to, there are many advantages to credit.

The Star: Don't blame Paula Deen's diabetes denial for America's obesity epidemic - So: you've more than likely heard about this. On the one hand, Paula Deen didn't actively force people to eat deep-friend Twinkies. But look at it this way: celebrity endorses something that has contributed to their own ailment. You could fill in the blank with a number of things: alcoholic endorses whiskey, person with emphysema endorses cigarettes. It just looks bad. Sure, a cooking show isn't an advertisement in the strictest sense, but she is saying: do this. Viewers could choose not to take her advice, but the responsibility doesn't fall entirely on the audience.

What do you think? Onus on the audience or the performer?

Video of the Week: Bats can be cute:

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Herding Cats: 101 Ways to Save, Rich Presidential Candidates, and a Playful Crow

Dealman — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:21:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}This week we have 101 ways to save money online and off, the best of CES 2012, tax tips, filthy rich presidential candidates, saving money in the kitchen, and a playful crow.

Christian Science Monitor: Top 9 ways Internet access can save you money - OK, so there may not be a huge number of things here that are a total surprise--most of us know you can save on a car or clothing when shopping online. After all, that's why Savings exists. But it's still neat to see how it's laid out via a dollar amount. It makes clear that there are now ways to save that were not available whatsoever pre-web.

Inforum: 101 Ways to Save Money - You're bound to find something you weren't aware of in this long list. Again, some of these are blatantly obvious (like buy used) but some are more innovative. Like go into your parents, or grandparents, closet to find clothes that are now back in style. It takes a certain kind of person willing to do that--but maybe saving money is as much about swallowing pride as it is watching dollars and cents.

CNET: The best of CES 2012 - Cool list of gadgets from this year's CES. I've got my eye on the 3-D printing machine, which is a real taste of the future. It can print in multiple colors and materials, which is a change from older 3-D printers. And it's only $1999. Sounds like a lot, but given how quickly tech improves and prices go down, this could be something that's at every Best Buy sooner rather than later. It's the future: ordering something and then printing it right in your home.

Infozine: Eight Tips to Help Taxpayers Save Money and Time - So the time for New Year's resolution posts are past, and now's the time for tax posts. This will probably be the first of several. It's not fun, but it's not like you can avoid the issue. Good tips here about tax credits that are available or have been extended. Most are available to people with bigger assets and expenses: owning a home, a car, a business, paying for college for a child. On the bright side, in most states tax day has been extended this year from April 15 to 17.

Mint: Common Kitchen Mistakes That Cost You Money - I didn't know about some of these--like air drying cutlery can dull knives. Someone tries to refute that in the comments, but it's true. It's said that a watched pot never boils, but you shouldn't even have the opportunity to watch it: you should put a cover on the pot. Of course, that won't lead to a huge energy savings, but keeping your fridge the right temp is important because that runs 24 hours a day.

Consumerism Commentary: How Rich Are the Presidential Candidates? - You probably knew that the presidential candidates are a bunch of rich guys--but maybe not this rich. Mitt Romney is worth upwards of $264 million. Not saying wealth makes a person a bad candidate...just saying. It can lead to things like George Bush the elder not knowing the price of milk back in the day. There can be a fine line between being fantastically wealthy and fantastically out of touch.

Video of the Week: I find this totally fascinating:

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Herding Cats: Kindle Fire vs. iPad, Siri Data Usage and Keeping New Years Resolutions

Dealman — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:57:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}
This week we have a money app for kids, money apps for adults, ways to make sure you use those money apps, Apple's problems, cheap oil, and saving money at your job.

Plus, an animal year in review.

Money Crashers: Personal Finance Round-Up: The Importance of New Year's Resolutions - A good list of posts. This one leaps out: How to Cure a Holiday Spending Hangover. The pain of making resolutions is taking on too much at once. But we've all just gotten through the holidays and probably spent too much money (I did), so start there. Of course, the post emphasizes a year-long commitment, but if you do that and nothing else, you've still potentially accomplished more than you did last year.

CNET: Devour data much? Apple's Siri surely does - This is going to be a very interesting year for Apple. The Kindle Fire is making a major dent against the iPad's market domination. Even if it's not as versatile as the iPad, you can't beat the price. Plus, the Fire's going to get better, so Apple will have to come up with a cheaper model to compete. Meanwhile, the iPhone 4S is a data hog, making it very expensive on some carriers. It really feels like a turning point for Apple: will they retain their old cachet in 2012, or will mounting problems and competition catch up to them?

ABC 2 News: Website aimed at teaching kids how to save money - Actually, not a whole lot to read at that link, but it did lead me to this new site, which I haven't heard of, and looks like a great idea: Kidworth. It's a money-management tool for kids: "Kidworth is about using a kid's income (from gifts, allowance and earnings) in productive ways. Parents register a free account and set goals with kids (or for kids, depending upon their age) and share those goals with the people in their kid's life." Especially useful post-holiday when children have possibly received money as gifts.

Doughroller: 5 Tools To Keep Your New Year's Resolution In Check - While we're on the topic, here's a great list of tools for adults. It begins with Mint, which should be the go-to app for money-management. Plus a list of other handy apps for losing weight, setting goals, and breaking bad habits. These apps can making something like losing weight at least a little bit more fun, and might even help you not ignore your resolutions come Feb. 1st.

Fuel Fix: Want to save money? Don't change your oil so often - A good tip . Of course, oil change places will tell you to change oil every 3,000 miles--because they want your money. But new cars might only need the oil changed as much as every 10,000 miles. Of course, if you own an old beater, the 3,000 limit still applies, but for new cars you can both save money and help the environment by cutting down on oil. Peter recently covered this issue as well as other manufacturer's instructions you can ignore in a recent post.

Star Tribune: Saving Money Through Your Employer - This most likely works if you work for a large corporation, but it isn't always the case. You may already be aware of the different types of student discounts, but there are also discounts available via an employer as well. Who knows--maybe you could double up on the savings by enrolling in school via an employer discount plus getting student discounts in the process.

Any other money-management software recommendations?

Video of the Week: A good year for animals:

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Herding Cats: The Sears, SOPA and Scams Edition

Dealman — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:57:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}This week we have Sears problems, the Kindle bonanza, SOPA news, surviving scams, best apps of the year and financial resolutions.

Plus a fierce lion.

AOL Daily Finance: How Sears Can Save Itself: Buy (and Sell) American - End of an era. 100-120 Sears and KMart stores are shutting down. People blame the upkeep of their stores, and I have to agree with that. The Sears and KMart stores where I live feel old. In the age of the flashy internet, these stores at least have to seem modern to keep up. But really what it comes down to is prices, and Sears prices don't always measure up to other retailers. All told, it's kind of sad: Sears isn't just a store, it's an icon--this post says that their future is still salvageable. Here's a list of all the Sears and K-Marts shutting down.

TechCrunch: Amazon: We Sold Over 4 Million Kindle Devices This Month; Gifting Of E-Books Up 175 Percent - It was the year of the e-reader. Actually, it seems like every year is going to be the year of the e-reader from now on. Get one? I got one for my daughter and she was totally excited. For all the arguments about paper vs. ebooks, e-readers add an extra element of excitement to reading. And how often do you see commercials for paper books on TV? Never--but the Kindle, a fair amount. That's a pretty amazing development. Meanwhile: Apple has to keep up so iPad 3 rumors are heating up.

Fox News: Will Google, Amazon, and Facebook Black Out the Net? - Everyone should get to know SOPA because it could alter the web as we know it. Already, there's been a huge backlash against GoDaddy for supporting SOPA. The idea is to prevent piracy--which is basically impossible--by targeting pirate websites. But the legislation is so sweeping that it will affect the entire web. Heavy hitters like Amazon and Facebook are against the legislation, but given the current Congress, having them do the right thing may be a long shot.

Mint: Gotcha! True Stories of Getting Scammed (And Surviving It!) - These are eye-opening and will alert you to methods used by scammers, which you should relay to the seniors in your life because they're the most likely to get scammed. It's also a checklist for scammers to try new tricks, but there's kind of no way around that. The first one about wiring money is particularly alarming and seems like it could work very well--calling someone up and saying "It's your favorite grandson." Imagine calling number after number and getting wired thousands of dollars from different people. There's a reason why scams persist: they work.

Huffington Post: Best-Rated Apps 2011: Mobilewalla Ranks Users' Favorites For Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone - Nice list, and a lot to check out. I haven't heard of a lot of these, which is weird because I have an iPad. Some of the top rated aren't listed as the top sellers in the app store.

Perkstreet: Evaluate Your 2011 Finances and Move Forward in 2012 - A less-fun year-end roundup--but inevitable. A pretty helpful post: it's not just a list of things you should do. Someone saying--pay off credit card debt--isn't really all that helpful. The questions here will help put 2011 into perspective and help you organize for 2012.

What are your resolutions for 2012? Anything beyond organizing finances and exercising?

Video of the week: This isn't cute or anything:

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Herding Cats: The Regifting and Christmas Cat Wrapping Edition

Dealman — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:54:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}
This week we have self-gifting, cooking gourmet from the pantry, smartphones killed the digital camera star, Boxing Day, answering the eternal question: do women overuse credit cards?, and tips for regifting.

Also, cat wrapping.

USA Today: After years of saving, shoppers treat themselves - Do you buy yourself a Christmas gift every year? I do--well, not every year, and not exactly on Christmas because that would be weird--but it definitely seems like a good time to self-gift if you can afford it. The numbers are up this year: 60% are self-shopping this year, up from 57%. This isn't too surprising, given that this has been an up year for shopping overall. It's not like everyone's suddenly become more self-involved. The Black Friday numbers are interesting--up 10% from last year.

Cypress Creek Mirror: Know what's in your pantry to save money - When I lived overseas for a year (in France) I watched English TV. I was particularly addicted to one show, "Ready Steady Cook" where two top chefs are given a handful of everyday ingredients--such as baby corn, soy sauce, and a can of tuna fish--and then instructed to make a gourmet meal out of it. It is awesome. I wonder why that show has never come to the U.S. Anyway: pantry=potential culinary goldmine.

PC Mag: Study: Smartphones Putting Serious Hurt on Point-and-Shoot Camera Sales - This is entirely unsurprising. Why carry around two devices when you can have one? One of the greatest advantages of the smart phone is the ability to have a camera on you at all times. As time goes on, the megapixel quality of smartphone cameras are only going to get better, so this will eat into low-end cameras even more. Even so, smartphones may never be able to eat into the high-end market, but you never know with how fast technology is improving.

Guardian: Boxing Day sales to start on Christmas Eve - online - Along the lines of Andy Warhol's "In the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes" I'd like to add: "In the future every single day will be a different holiday." Not to knock Boxing Day, because it's a real thing--though it's more of a U.K. thing. From Wikipedia: "Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on December 26, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations." If you're a UK shopper, check out Savoo's Boxing Day deals.

Bargaineering: Do Women Really Spend Too Much? - That's a pretty contentious title, but it turns out it's really not that controversial. The gist is that, yes, women spend more--but that's because they're also more likely to do more of the shopping in general--for kids, for the house, even for husbands. And while women spend more on clothes and makeup, men spend more on gadgetry, so that sort of evens out. Maybe it's one of those cliches that needs to go away: women go mad with a credit cards. Sort of like men always forget anniversaries. Maybe some men do, but it seems more like a sitcom punchline than reality.

Mint: The Do's and Don'ts of Regifting - True story: my daughter's teacher gave out little prizes for doing good things in class. My daughter received a glass rose, nice. Only, a boy in her class said, "Wait, that's what I gave her for Valentine's Day." Hey, teachers, don't do this. Apparently, December 18 is National Re-Gifting Day. What did I say above about every day being a different holiday? Basic rule, if something is truly crappy that you don't want it, pawning this off on someone else isn't the best idea--unless it's a situation where the recipient truly won't care.

Have a great holiday!

Video of the Week: Never in a million years would my cat allow me to do this:

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Herding Cats: Kindle Fire Update, Nokia Lumia 710 and Santa's Net Worth

Dealman — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:51:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}

This week we have the Kindle Fire update, the NTSB cell phone guidelines, Santa's net worth, Nokia and T-Mobile team up, how to tip during the holidays, and saving money on Christmas by not celebrating Christmas.

Plus, a Bearded Dragon eating imaginary ants.

CNN: Amazon planning Kindle Fire updates to fix complaints - We've covered the Kindle Fire before, but it's pretty interesting how bad a rap it's getting. Some of the issues are head-scratching--like no volume control. How expensive would it be to add that? I know personally that I was going to get one for my daughter and found out that the device has no parental controls, which is pretty silly given that Kindle Fire commercials are in part directed towards children and children's books. But unlimited access to the internet isn't a good idea for a child.

PC Mag: Cell Phones Get the Red Light in Cars - This opinion piece is pretty snide about the idea of banning cell phones in cars (what's a "crazy old Berkeley woman"?), but he's right. At this stage, banning all phone conversations in cars makes little sense because cell phones are such an integrated part of our lives. It certainly makes little sense to ban hands-free devices. How is a hands-free device any different than having a conversation with a passenger? People should definitely not use a handset while driving, but outlawing the act of speaking is a really silly regulation.

Consumerism Commentary: The Santa Index: How Much is Santa Worth? - This is a pretty hilarious infographic. Turns out Santa is doing quite well for himself. He's the 1%. Occupy the North Pole! Actually, making $130,000 a year doesn't sound all that great for someone who has to deliver presents to millions of homes. But then, he only works one day a year. If he's paying the elves out of that $130,000, then the elves are definitely the 99%. Given that Time Magazine named "The Protestor" as person of the year, this Christmas could turn out very different.

PC Mag: How Nokia Stumbles With The T-Mobile Lumia 710 - This article is entirely negative, but I'm going to be all over the Nokia Lumia when it's released in January. A confession: I have the lamest cellphone in the United States. It is not smart. I have an iPad and many other gadgets but my own phone can make calls and texts and that's about it. My idea for this was that I didn't want to be attached to Facebook/email when I was out in the world (like so many people you see), but now it's just not practical. I'm locked into a T-Mobile account, so it's better for me than making the switch to AT&T and an iPhone. So, yeah, it's not the kind of phone that will light up the industry--but it's cheap and versatile and that's good by me.

Dougroller: Holiday Tipping Guide 2011 - Handy guide. I didn't realize that you weren't allowed to tip a postal worker cold, hard cash. I'm sure this hasn't really stopped people over the years. What difference does it make if it's a cash card? Money is money. Tipping a garbage man seems harder. Where do you leave it? Do you chase after him/them on the street? I bet if you do that, they'll look sort of confused. Again there are regulations prohibiting this some places, so do your research. It's good to be reminded of this because for many people the money they make via tips is their Christmas bonus, so you should take part.

Washington Post: To save money on gifts, some families celebrate Christmas a few days late - Wow, file this under extreme saving: People are celebrating Christmas post-Christmas so they can buy gifts during all the after-Christmas sales. It's understandable if you're hurting for money and have no other option, but if you're doing it to say a few dollars on the back-end that's some serious dedication. At the same time, a lot of people who are doing this are people without kids, so they're not really disappointing anyone. If it's a mutual agreement among a couple--it can even be fun. Convincing kids this is a good idea is a whole other matter.

Would you ever do this? How far would you go to save money for Christmas?

Video of the Week: A lizard playing a video game:

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Herding Cats: Amazon Price Check App, NBA Lockout News and Million Dollar Blogs

Dealman — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:57:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}

This week we have controversy at Amazon, million-dollar blogs, gifts that save money, products that skimp on the product, and the Chris Paul trade situation.

Plus, a pumpkin-loving porcupine.

Publishers Weekly: Booksellers Unhappy With Amazon's Latest Moves - This is a pretty interesting ethical situation. The story is that Amazon is offering $5 if you don't shop at a brick and mortar store and make that sale at Amazon. How much is that $5 worth it to you? Amazon is great and efficient, but it's not a great thing to see the mom and pops fading away--the way Walmart has done with some communities. As a PR move, it doesn't seem like that great an idea for Amazon. For consumers, it doesn't seem worth the extra legwork for $5.

WAFB: Gifts that help save money - There's so much talk about saving money on gifts that another issue is left out: giving the gift of saving money. Some of these are good ideas--a water purifier could seem Christmas-y. An AAA membership, not so much. Truth be told, most of the ideas are pretty un-festive, so perhaps putting a few of these together as a "savings kit" could be an idea.

Doughroller: List of Personal Finance Blogs that have Sold for $1 Million or More - This is a little inside baseball, or inside finance blog, but it's a pretty interesting look at just how lucrative some blogs can be. Popular personal finance blogs like Bargaineering or Consumerism Commentary have sold for a $1 million or more. Finance blogs tend to sell for the most because they're about, well, money, but fashion/celebrity blogs also pull in these kinds of numbers. In short, if it's a mainstream issue with good traffic, a big sale could come.

MoneyTalksNews: Looking for Inflation? It's Hiding in Smaller Package Sizes - This is pretty eye-opening. You were probably aware that chip packages really skimp on the amount of chips compared to the package--but now it's worse: 20% less. Same goes for a bunch of other convenience foods. So you're not always saving money on a cheaper price if you're getting less. It's not like they advertise: "New! Smaller Size!," so be on the lookout for this.

SB Nation: Chris Paul Trade Veto Shows Who Won The NBA Lockout: No One - Weird week for sports. First, Albert Pujols suddenly goes to Anaheim for $260 million. People are angry that he went for the money, but it makes sense that he goes to the American League where he can DH. The Chris Paul situation is pretty complicated. SB Nation writes,"Try as the owners did to fight it, it's clearer than ever: players run this league, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it." Well, yeah, but the owners did shut down the deal, so they do have some power. I don't really want to see a Heat situation in L.A. -- it's not good for any sport.

Any insight into the trade situation? I feel like I may be missing something.

Video of the Week: Teddy Bear, the web's most popular talking porcupine.

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Herding Cats: Unemployment Rate Drops, Spotify Apps and Google Delivery

Dealman — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:56:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}

This week we have good news on the economy, Google trying to become Amazon, saving on free shipping--and on trade-ins, some good shopping apps, plus new apps from Spotify.

And the world's largest insect.

Houston Chronicle: Unemployment rate falls to lowest since March 2009 - Some strangely good news around the holidays. What? Good news about the economy? Unemployment fell to 8.6%. These numbers can be parsed due to how the numbers are calculated, but it's hard to argue with this: "The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row - the first time that has happened since April 2006, well before the Great Recession." Meanwhile: Black Friday and Cyber Monday Increases by 30 Percent Over 2010. People don't usually spend money they don't have, so this is good news. And even if they're spending on credit, it still shows confidence in the long term.

DailyTech: Google Jumps Into E-Tailing with New Shipping Service, Looks to Rival Amazon Prime - This is pretty interesting. Would you use this? It makes sense for Google: if people are Amazon Prime members, there's no reason to search on Google for products, they'll just go straight to Amazon. Personally, I'm not a prime member--doesn't seem worth it when you can get free shipping on a $25 order at Amazon. I let items build up and then buy them. Which isn't ideal, but it's one method to save money.

Mint: Is Free Shipping Really Free? - On the free shipping front, this article is a little negative about free shipping. The premise is that you'll most likely get free shipping only if there's an elevated price on a product. This isn't entirely true, as many retailers will just swallow the cost. The other argument is that retailers will skimp on customer service. Frankly, this doesn't bother me, except for a few products. But it's a very good argument for combining free shipping with a 10-20% off code because then you get make up for whatever raised price there might be. That said, it makes sense to shop around and find the lowest price available. 20% off too expensive isn't a good deal.

Nerdwallet: 8 Best Holiday Shopping Apps: Saving Money with Your Phone - Some of these are pretty cool. A GPS app for navigating shopping malls? Scanning receipts is neat too--but will all merchants accept this digital copy? That's an interesting question, and merchants should probably get on board. The same goes for scanning a loyalty card through a phone app. Checkout SDC's list of money-management apps as well.

MoneyNing: Save on Your Next Purchase Through Trade-In and Buy Back Programs - This seems like an easier way to save money than selling items separately through Craigslist, Amazon, or somewhere else. Then again, it's possible you could get more money selling directly than through a trade-in, but you might not be aware just how many stores have trade-in deals.

New York Times: Spotify Introduces Apps to Point Listeners to Music - Anyone a Spotify member? I pay the $10 a month for no ads and unlimited playlists and seriously it's the best money I spend. I realize the Spotify payout isn't the best for musicians, but having instant access to so much music is totally amazing. This week Spotify revealed its app store, which helps people find music through venues like Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, or a karaoke app, which shows song lyrics. It's really only beginning, but this is the future of how music is going to be discovered.

Video of the Week: A cuddly, cute Weta Bug. This gigantic bug has gone viral, but here's a smaller one in action.

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Herding Cats: Kindle Fire vs. iPad, Walmart Pepper Spray and Other Black Friday 2011 News

Dealman — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:55:00 GMT

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}

This week we have (surprise!) Black Friday tips, Black Friday mayhem, a Black Friday infographic, an app to predict price drops, to Kindle or iPad, that is the question--and Muppets. Also, more Muppets.

L.A. Times: Shootings, pepper-spray attack mar Wal-Mart Black Friday sales - People, please. Injuring people to buy some presents is totally senseless. You have to wonder if the woman saw the pepper-spraying police officer at UC Davis and thought to herself, "A police officer is using it on those kids, why can't I?" Which piles a bad situation on a bad situation. Use the internet this Black Friday and no one gets hurt. I don't just say this because it's Savings M.O., but because Black Friday is a throwback to the pre-internet days when it really was the only way to save money. Now it's one of many.

Mashable: Buy Now or Wait: An iPhone App Can Help You Decide - Here's the future of saving money: It's not enough to check the sales to see when a store is going to drop prices, but you can also play the marketplace like the stock market. The app predicts when a gadget's price will go down based on overall market activity. We all know that gadgets go down in price over time, but this app tells you when that might occur, so you can shop accordingly. Pretty cool.

Gigaom: iPad or Kindle Fire: Which should you buy? - If you're in market for something to use the above app, Apple is offering a rare iPad discount. But what about the Kindle Fire, which is $300 cheaper to begin with? I haven't held the Fire yet, but if you're only looking for something to read books and browse the web, then get a Fire. If you want something with more productivity, get an iPad. I wrote an entire book on an iPad using the Notepad app and the Fire just wouldn't be able to do this. Yet.

Mint: A City-by-City Guide to Americans' Black Friday Spending - Cool infographic from Mint about where the most Black Friday shopping happens, and on what. The verdict, if you're in New York City, you're spending more money than everyone else, so watch out. This either means people in New York have more money (true) or everything's more expensive (also true).

Donna Freedman: Occupy Black Friday: A grab-bag of tips - Maybe a little too late to prepare and plan for your Black Friday savings--but if you're here, your plan was probably to avoid getting pepper-sprayed and shop online. So good tips here for things to look out for with your Black Friday shopping. Avoiding purchasing a warranty is a big one. There are certain products where a warranty is highly recommended--AppleCare for one. But there are free warranties available. Also, check out a service like Square Trade, which offers discounts on warranties.

io9: The New Muppet Movie is the Real Thing - Finally, Muppets. I'm hugely looking forward to this and plan on seeing it this weekend. I'm a Muppets kid with a daughter who's not really a Muppets kid, so nice to be able to share the experience.

Seen it yet? Planning to?

On that note: Video of the Week: "Movin' Right Along"

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Herding Cats: History of Black Friday Deals, Cut Thanksgiving Day Costs and NASA Power Naps

Dealman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:58:00 GMT

This week we have a scientific survey about saving money, NASA takes on power naps, money-saving tips for around the house, saving on Thanksgiving, the meaning of Black Friday, and a parade of geese.

Live Science: 9 Ways Americans are Saving Money - Pretty interesting survey from LiveScience about consumers' saving habits. One of the more alarming facts: people going to the doctor less. An apple a day keeps the doctor away...but going to the doctor today could save you from much larger medical bills in the future. Cutting out the expense is understandable in down times, but not advisable. The others--couponing, eating at home, and so on--are less surprising, but it's good to see other people are in the same boat.

MoneyTalksNew: How to Sleep Your Way to the Top - Literally - Another survey, with a very provocative title. Turns out that according to NASA power naps are hugely beneficial to work performance. One significant issue: you have to convince your boss that sleeping on the job is OK. Not sure if quoting NASA is enough of an excuse. Personally, forcing myself to sleep when I'm not particularly tired doesn't work. Another issue: there are probably people who actually don't want to be alert for work--they'd rather be half asleep.

Patch: Money Saving Tips That Really Make a Difference for Families - Nice list of tips that aren't all necessarily for families. Some you may know and are probably doing, some you may not. One of the major ones I'm thinking of doing (but haven't yet) is canceling cable. There's so much streaming on Netflix that it's not entirely necessary. My daughter will be annoyed that she can't watch the newest "Wizards of Waverly Place" but she hasn't seen all the old episodes so she'll get over it. What's keeping me is that I'm also a news junkie, and though the web can cover that in a big way, I like having access to cable news for a big story. But then again, saving is about making small sacrifices.

Mint: Cut Down on Thanksgiving Costs: To be perfectly honest, there aren't a slew of saving money tips for Thanksgiving that aren't relevant throughout the year. "Use coupons" isn't necessarily a groundbreaking tip. Maybe there are those who look to save on a big meal like this one who don't necessarily bargain grocery shop the rest of the year--so now's the time to get into the habit. Potluck is always a good idea. The big one is to not buy a bird 10 pounds too large. Or, if you do, have some recipes on hand to put those turkey leftovers to good use. Wisebread also has a good thread about saving on Thanksgiving.

Moneycrashers: What Is Black Friday - History of the Holiday Shopping Phenomenon - Neat comprehensive post about the big shopping day. Somehow, Black Friday is still a big deal--and I mean that because Black Friday hysteria erupted during the pre-internet days and now you can find many (if not all) of the very same deals sitting at home at your computer. Of course, there's some pleasure in storefront shopping, but this might not account for the madness of some Black Friday sales. And, of course, Savings makes it easy to find Black Friday deals.

What are your Black Friday plans?

Video of the week: Disney comes to life:

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